Attachable pencil holder for paper retaining clamp

ABSTRACT

A pencil holder removeably attachable to a paper clip or clamp which allows for the resilient coupling of a pencil to the clamp or clip body itself for use when the pencil is to be in a stored position. In one embodiment, the device consists of an elongated body portion having a channel disposed longitudinally, the channel being sized to receive one side of a paper clamp, the body having a pair of resilient, flexible arms substantially curved in shape protruding outward, positioned approximately at each end of the body, the curved arms forming a pencil receiving channel when disposed adjacent the paper clip or clamp. In an alternate embodiment, the clamp body itself will have a pair of resilient arms protruding therefrom, forming a pencil holding channel between the main body portion and the resilient arms.

'United States Patent [1 1 Buturuga [4 1 Oct. 14, 1975 ATTACHABLE PENCIL HOLDER FOR PAPER RETAINING CLAlVlP [22] Filed: Oct. 18, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 515,835

Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Assistant ExaminerDoris L. Troutman Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Malin & Haley [57] ABSTRACT A pencil holder removeably attachable to a paper clip or clamp which allows for the resilient coupling of a pencil to the clamp or clip body itself for use when the pencil is to be in a stored position. In one embodiment, the device consists of an elongated body portion having a channel disposed longitudinally, the channel being sized to receive one side of a paper clamp, the body having a pair of resilient, flexible arms substantially curved in shape protruding outward, positioned approximately at each end of the body, the curved arms forming a pencil receiving channel when disposed adjacent the paper clip or clamp. In an alternate embodiment, the clamp body itself will have a pair of resilient arms protruding therefrom, forming a pencil holding channel between the main body portion and the resilient arms.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures ATTACHABLE PENCIL HOLDER FOR PAPER RETAINING CLAMP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a pencil holding device and specifically to an attachable pencil holder which may be utilized with a paper clip or clamp to retain a pencil in a fixed position relative to the clamp body whenever the pencil is in a stored position.

In the past, the utilization of paper clips or clamps is well known. Oftentimes, they are found in conjunction with a hard planar board surface which is commonly referred to as a clip board.When utilizing a clip board, it is almost always necessary to have a writing instrument handily available for making necessary notations on sheets of paper contained on the clip board. It is common to see a writing instrument, such as a pencil or a pen, attached by string and dangling from the clip board or sometimes projecting through apertures within the paper clamp itself. The prior art method of retaining a pencil adjacent the clamp has proven basically unsatisfactory in that oftentimes the string retaining the writing instrument becomes tangled or the string slides off the pencil allowing it to be separated from the clamp while in the other instance when using apertures disposed in the clamp body, the instrument writing point is oftentimes broken or marred and the writing instrument itself is oftentimes held so loosely that it often falls out, if the clip board is moved.

Applicants invention overcomes these problems with a non-complex pencil or writing instrument retaining device which is easily attachable to present clip board paper clamps, or in an alternate embodiment easily manufactured from the present type paper clamp with a very small additional increase in price while providing a pencil holding device that firmly retains the pencil or writing instrument adjacent the body of the clamp without interfering or affecting the operation of the paper clamp itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A device for resiliently retaining a hand-held writing instrument, such as a pen, pencil or the like, adjacent the body of a paper clamp comprising a longitudinal elongated body portion, said body having a receiving channel disposed longitudinally therealong and a pair of curved arms fixed substantially adjacent the end portions of said elongated body, said arms being curved to form a channel for receiving said writing instrument, said elongated body channel being sized to receive the clamping leg of a conventional paper clamp.

In operation, the elongated body channel is mated into one of the clamp legs and the curved arms in conjunction with the outer body portion of the clamp to form a channel, the channel being sized to firmly hold a writing instrument in the shape of a pencil with the arm curvature being such that the instrument when inserted resiliently presses the arm portions outward, which snap back into position when the instrument is stored in the channel itself, thus firmly retaining the pencil to the clamp body itself.

In an alternate embodiment, the clamp body leg may have projecting resilient arms disposed at each end which project from the clamp leg body itself forming a resilient channel for receiving a writing instrument, the arms acting to resiliently mount a writing instrument in the stored position.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved writing instrument holding device for use in conjunction with a paper clip or paper clamp.

It is another object of this invention to provide a pencil holder which is removeably attachable to a conventional paper clamp.

And yet still another object of this invention is to provide a paper clamp having a resiliently disposed pair of arms which may retain a pencil or the like to the body of the clamp.

In accordance with these and other objects which will be apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of the conventional paper clamp in conjunction with the instant invention.

FIG. 2 shows a side elevational view of one embodiment of the instant invention.

FIG. 3 shows a top, plane view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 of the instant invention.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of Applicants invention.

FIG. 5 shows the alternate embodiment of the instant invention in a front elevational view with a pencil shown in phantom.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, and specifically FIG. 1, Applicants invention is shown generally at 10 comprising an elongated, narrow, U-shaped body 12, said body having a channel 16 disposed longitudinally and a pair of resilient arms 14, each arm disposed at opposite ends, projecting from one side of said body 12, said arms being substantially curved outward away from body 12 and upward. Also shown in FIG. 1 is a conventional paper clip or paper clamp 18, said clamp having legs 20 which are spring mounted in a closed position (as shown) which are actuated by clamp arms 22. The clamp 18 is well known in the art and has been utilized with a device commonly termed a clip board. Applicants device 10 is coupled in the channel 16 and is received on the end portion of the clamp leg 20 on only one leg with the curvature of the arms 14 being disposed to form a pencil receiving channel between the body of clamp 18 and the inner portion of the curved arms 14.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the attachable writing instrument holder showing the curvature of the arms 14 which are constructed of a resilient material such as metal or plastic and channel 16 which is sized to snugly fit in the leg of the clamp so that the pencil holder may be retained firmly to the clamp body itself.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the attachable, removeable pencil holder including the longitudinal channel 16 in the holder body 12 and the arm portions 14 disposed at each end of the body 12. The particular position of the arms along the longitudinal axis of body 12 may be selected by the manufacturer in that the arms may be moved more towards the longitudinal center of the body.

Thus, with the device shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, the readily attachable pencil or pen holder may be used with a paper clamp which is already conventional and well known, thus not requiring a remodification of the clamp body itself. The pencil holder in no way interfers with the operation of the conventional clamp but does provide a convenient storage position with easy access to the pencil or pen adjacent the clamp body without interfering with the removal or addition of papers to the paper clamp. The cylindrical body portion of the clamp in its outer surface act in conjunction with the shaping of the resilient arms 14 to form a channel near the top of the arms which is narrower than the width of the conventional pencil or pen. Thus, during the insertion of the pencil, the arms are resiliently forced outward and when the pencil is in its proper position for retention by the holder, the upper portion of the arms firmly lock and retain the pencil to the clamp body.

FIG. 4 shows an alternate embodiment of Applicants invention in which a clamp 24 has been modified by extending or coupling to one of the clamp legs 26 a pair of arms 28 which may be unitarily constructed along with the leg 26 and which are bent outward and upward to form a pencil receiving channel between the inner portion of the arms 28 and the body portion of the clamp 24. The arms 28 may be unitarily constructed with the leg 26 of the same material, preferably metal or plastic, thus making the arms resilient so that they will spring back to their original position after the pencil has been inserted or removed from the holder. Thus, the pencil holder may be readily adapted in the construction of a conventional clamp 24 primarily adding additional lengths of metal and shaping them as the arms 28 are shown.

FIG. shows the alternate embodiment of FIG. 4 with a pencil shown in the retained position, the pencil being shown in phantom.

A formal projecting flange 32 is utilized to receive a fingertip or thumb tip of a person inserting or removing a pencil or the like to aid in overcoming the resilient force of the arms 14. Upper flange 34 on body 12 acts to provide addition support in contact with the pencil body in conjunction with the resilient force of the arms 14 to firmly hold the pencil in position.

Either embodiment of Applicants invention including the clamp body of the removeable pencil holder it-. self may be constructed of suitable resilient material, such as metal, plastic or the like. Although the invention has been shown relative to a particular clamp, of course, the principles of the invention may be adapted to any conventional type of paper clamping device which is structurally equivalent to the clamp shown in this invention.

The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Whatl claim is:

1. A writing instrument retaining device removeably engageable with a paper clamp for resiliently retaining a writing instrument such as a pen or pencil against a portion of said clamp body, said clamp including a pair of paper clamp legs, said writing instrument retaining device comprising:

a body having an elongated, blade engaging channel,

said channel having a pair of walls joined substantially in a U-shape, said body channel sized for connecting said body to one of said paper clamp blades, said body including a pair of resilient arms, each arm disposed at opposite ends of said body channel, each arm having a lower portion connected to one of said channel walls, said lower portion substantially perpendicular to said channel wall and said arm having an upper portion adjacent the free'end of said arm substantially parallel'to said channel wall, said pair of arms forming a writing instrument retainer for retaining a writing instrument adjacent one of said clamp blades.

2. A writing instrument retaining device, as in claim 1, wherein:

said body includes a thumb engaging flange disposed perpendicularly and protruding from one of said 1 body channel walls. 

1. A writing instrument retaining device removeably engageable with a paper clamp for resiliently retaining a writing instrument such as a pen or pencil against a portion of said clamp body, said clamp including a pair of paper clamp legs, said writing instrument retaining device comprising: a body having an elongated, blade engaging channel, said channel having a pair of walls joined substantially in a U-shape, said body channel sized for connecting said body to one of said paper clamp blades, said body including a pair of resilient arms, each arm disposed at opposite ends of said body channel, each arm having a lower portion connected to one of said channel walls, said lower portion substantially perpendicular to said channel wall and said arm having an upper portion adjacent the free end of said arm substantially parallel to said channel wall, said pair of arms forming a writing instrument retainer for retaining a writing instrument adjacent one of said clamp blades.
 2. A writing instrument retaining device, as in claim 1, wherein: said body includes a thumb engaging flange disposed perpendicularly and protruding from one of said body channel walls. 